Here’s a line you don’t read very often: after evidence of truly egregious misogyny and bigotry was leaked to the public, two fraternities have decided to voluntarily disband.

The news comes out of Swarthmore, a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. Internal documents from the Phi Psi fraternity, which were penned between 2010 and 2016, detailed a so-called “rape attic” at the fraternity, and included explicit and degrading details of sexual interactions with women. In response, several Swarthmore students staged a sit-in at Phi Psi, demanding that the university revoke their lease.

Instead, Phi Psi voluntarily disbanded. The other fraternity on campus, Delta Upsilon, announced it was do the same, saying that they “hope that our former house will provide a space that is inclusive, safe, and promotes healing”.

I’ll be honest: I didn’t see that one coming.

That’s because fraternities, despite their long and sordid history of providing shelter for excessive and deadly drinking, dangerous and abusive hazing, and venomous misogyny that extends from demeaning language to rape, have long protected themselves, often with significant legal assistance. The impulse is to protect the institution, which is why frat boys themselves often get personally hung out to dry when something goes wrong, while the legal support comes in for the fraternity itself – the name, not the actual members.

This makes sense when you consider the real purpose of fraternities. For all the talk of brotherhood, bonding and mentorship into manhood, frats actually exist to replicate the privilege and connections of their members. They send covert messages about one’s race, class, and position on the social hierarchy – currency that is valuable both in college and long after. That’s a precious asset, and not one that most fraternities and their members are willing to give up.

Which makes what Swarthmore’s fraternities did so notable (and laudable). Now, to be fair, Swarthmore isn’t a frat school, and fraternity membership is not a make-or-break part of social life on campus. At many other schools, that isn’t the case – social cachet can hinge on being a part of Greek life. At schools where fraternities and sororities are inexorably intertwined in the social hierarchy – at schools where they sit atop it – one imagines that voluntary dissolution is highly unlikely. It was easier at Swarthmore, where fraternities weren’t central to social success.

But that doesn’t mean the choice to disband was an easy one, and I would imagine it was not unanimous. But it was the right thing to do. Sometimes, accountability is not about righting individual wrongdoing, but about truly looking at the entire culture of an institution. Over six years, the culture at Phi Psi at Swarthmore was tainted by misogyny, homophobia and glorification of sexual humiliation. The problem wasn’t a few bad actors. It was also a frat house culture that enabled and excused them. Both fraternities could have blamed the individuals (and of course they did). But they also took responsibility for the actions that happened in their name, even if the current members weren’t the ones who made the misogynist comments.

More fraternities should follow suit. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to live in a house with your friends. There’s nothing wrong with male bonding and brotherhood. But you can do that without auditioning for exclusionary organizations that have, across the country, become synonymous with violence, hazing, entitlement and misogyny.

We don’t need fraternities. They are pernicious forces for too many of the young men who join them, and for even more of the young women who walk through their doors. Do fraternity members want to prove that they aren’t like those other frat guys who disrespect women, laugh at bigotry and duck accountability?